Gerard Parkes

Acting

Gerard Parkes

Born — Died

1924-10-16 — 2014-10-19

Place of birth

Dublin, Ireland

Known for

Acting

Credits

54 titles

Gerard "Gerry" Parkes was an Irish-born Canadian actor. He was born in Dublin, and moved to Toronto in 1956. He is best known for playing "Doc" on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television series Fraggle Rock and the bartender in the film The Boondock Saints and its sequel The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day. His acting career spanned film, radio, television, and the stage. Parkes worked often on CBC radio, beginning in 1959, and shifted into television and film, acting in such diverse series as the 1960s' ecological adventure series The Forest Rangers, children's show The Littlest Hobo, and the detective series Cagney and Lacey. In 1968, Parkes won the first Canadian film award (…

Known for

The Wednesday Play poster
5.2

An anthology series of television plays which aired on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured.

The Wednesday Play

1964

The Twilight Zone poster
7.7

This 1980s revival of the classic sci-fi series features a similar style to the original anthology series. Each episode tells a tale (sometimes two or three) rooted in horror or suspense, often with a surprising twist at the end. Episodes usually feature elements of drama and comedy.

The Twilight Zone

1985

War of the Worlds poster
6.5

Humanity must resume its war against the Martians when they revive after decades of hibernation following their defeat in the 1950s. The fate of Earth may very well rest in the hands of a small yet courageous band: astrophysicist Harrison Blackwood, paraplegic computer wizard Norton Drake, microbiologist Suzanne McCullough and military man Paul Ironhorse.

War of the Worlds

1988

Fraggle Rock poster
7.3

The Fraggles are a fun-loving community of creatures who live in a subterranean fantasy land where they love to play, sing and dance their cares away, sharing their world with the tiny Doozers and the giant Gorgs. The series teaches empathy and tolerance and encourages children to understand people different from themselves.

Fraggle Rock

1983

Storm of the Century poster
7.0

When a blizzard hits an isolated island town it brings with it a mysterious stranger intent on terrorizing the people for a sinister purpose.

Storm of the Century

1999

Noddy poster
5.9

After years of sailing the sea, Noah Tomten, a retired sea captain, owns an antique toy store called Notions Oddities Doodads and Delights of Yesterday, a variety of toys, from a weasel living inside of a jack in the box to a dog pretending to be a superhero, along with his pet lobster. Two of his grandkids, Kate and Truman, as well as Kate's friend DJ, come to visit him from time to time.

Noddy

1998

Film credits

2000s · 6 titles

The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day poster
6.0

Skillfully framed by an unknown enemy for the murder of a priest, wanted vigilante MacManus brothers Murphy and Connor must come out of hiding on a sheep farm in Ireland to fight for justice in Boston.

The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day

2009

A House Divided poster
6.5

In the aftermath of the terrible Civil War which has devastated the South, Amanda America Dixon returns home to find she has become the sole heir to a vast cotton plantation. But the dreadful secret which has blighted her life threatens to deprive her of the birthright which her beloved father David had struggled for so long to create. Raised by her father and grandmother to be the perfect white Southern Belle, Amanda's true mother was a black slave Julia. Confronted with the forces of greed and bigotry, Amanda has to face not only the hatred of a racist world, but the complex truth of a family whose lives have been built on a lie.

A House Divided

2000

Deeply poster
6.2

On Ironbound Island, native Fiona McKay arrives from Europe with her teenage daughter Clair, hoping that the peace of the island will help the girl get over the death of her boyfriend. The girl finds comfort in the company of a visiting American girl and more so in the stories of Celia, a crazy old local who weaves enchanting tales which cleverly combine her own experiences on the island with mystifying legends.

Deeply

2000

Enslavement: The True Story of Fanny Kemble poster
6.8

Fanny Kemble is a famous star of the English stage, but while touring the United States, she gives up her career to marry wealthy American Pierce Butler. Moving with him from Philadelphia to his Georgia plantation, Fanny sees slavery firsthand, and her outrage leads her to help the family's slaves in open defiance of her spouse. Undaunted by the consequences, Fanny eventually writes a book that strengthens the anti-slavery movement.

Enslavement: The True Story of Fanny Kemble

2000

Blessed Stranger: After Flight 111 poster
4.2

A sensitive and realistic portrayal of the families' grief after the devastating crash of Swissair flight 111, in which all 229 passengers and crew were killed. A woman whose daughter was among the victims meets a fisherman in Nova Scotia who took part in the recovery mission.

Blessed Stranger: After Flight 111

2000

Fraggle Rock: Dance Your Cares Away poster
NR

Boober Gorg: After being hit on the head by a radish, Boober thinks he's a Gorg! Determined to protect Gorgs' radishes, he joins forces with the giants to capture he Fraggle friends. Blanket of Snow, Blanket of Woe: When Mokey forgets to cover Marjory the Trash Heap before the first snowfall, Marjory freezes solid! With help from Boober and the Gorgs, Mokey keeps her promise to make things right. Inspector Red: Who stole the ancient fragglehorn? Red plays detective so solve the strange and bizarre mystery. Which of the suspects is guilty? Would a guilty Fraggle let an innocent Fraggle take the rap?

Fraggle Rock: Dance Your Cares Away

2005

1990s · 16 titles

The Boondock Saints poster
7.2

Tired of the crime overrunning the streets of Boston, Irish Catholic twin brothers Conner and Murphy are inspired by their faith to cleanse their hometown of evil with their own brand of zealous vigilante justice. As they hunt down and kill one notorious gangster after another, they become controversial folk heroes in the community. But Paul Smecker, an eccentric FBI agent, is fast closing in on their blood-soaked trail.

The Boondock Saints

1999

It Takes Two poster
6.5

Identical 9-year-olds from very different backgrounds: orphaned Amanda and wealthy Alyssa meet at summer camp and decide to switch places -- and play matchmaker between Alyssa's dad, Roger, and the kind social worker who cares for Amanda.

It Takes Two

1995

Trapped in Paradise poster
5.6

Residents of a friendly Pennsylvania town foil three brothers' plan to rob a bank on Christmas Eve.

Trapped in Paradise

1994

Small Gifts poster
6.5

Nora and Evan are a young married couple who find their finances are in serious trouble as Christmas draws near in this new take on O. Henry's classic story ""The Gift of the Magi.""

Small Gifts

1994

The Gunrunner poster
4.0

1926. The Chinese Civil War. Drifter Ted Beaubien is captured and forced to witness his girlfriend's execution. He finally escapes and vows to avenge her death by taking on a deadly mission to buy guns abroad and smuggle them back. Arriving in his hometown, Ted is shocked to find his elderly mother and younger brother George are penniless. But time is running out, and before he can help them, he's got to get the guns. In setting up the deal, Ted meets and falls for the seductive nightclub owner Maud Ryan who introduces him to the treacherous gangsters who will sell him the artillery. For a gun-runner, falling in love is like pointing a pistol at your heart - and pulling the trigger!

The Gunrunner

1990

Mother Night poster
6.6

An American spy behind the lines during WWII serves as a Nazi propagandist, a role he cannot escape in his future life as he can never reveal his real role in the war.

Mother Night

1996

Rescuers: Stories of Courage - Two Women poster
8.5

First in a series of anthology films dealing with Christians who put their lives on the line to help rescue Jews from the Holocaust. In the first of two short films, "Mamusha," as the Nazis invade her country, a Polish Catholic housekeeper takes under her wing the youngster in the Jewish family for whom she is employed, and shepherds him through WWII in hopes of ultimately getting him repatriated to Palestine. In "Woman on a Bicycle," an unmarried French woman is pressed into service by the church to distribute underground communication pamphlets for the Resistance and ultimately ends up helping the church shelter 19 Jews.

Rescuers: Stories of Courage - Two Women

1997

The Adjuster poster
6.0

An uptight insurance man and his film-censor wife become a kinky couple's landlords.

The Adjuster

1991

Thanks of a Grateful Nation poster
4.8

An examination of the aftermath of Desert Storm and how servicemen and women were affected by it medically.

Thanks of a Grateful Nation

1998

Speaking Parts poster
5.9

Hotel employee Lisa develops an obsession with her co-worker Lance, a struggling actor who has appeared in several films as an extra.

Speaking Parts

1990

Thunder Point poster
4.5

Former IRA agent Sean Dillon comes to the rescue when a woman discovers a briefcase containing plans that could destroy all of Europe. Dillon's assignment is to protect her until the plans can be properly destroyed.

Thunder Point

1998

Common Ground poster
8.5

Fact based story about the racial tensions that occurred in Boston in the 1970's because of court ordered busing to end desegregation. The story focuses on an African-American mother determined to get her children a quality education and a white lawyer trying to deal with inner city problems.

Common Ground

1990

Money poster
5.5

A young man whose father's fortune was stolen by his closest friends sets out to get revenge in this odyssey through the world's major financial centers.

Money

1991

Handel's Last Chance poster
4.8

As the film opens, the career of George Frideric Handel is in tatters. Invited to Dublin to present the premiere of a new choral work, The Messiah, he can't find singers adequate for the job. A boy who steals a chicken runs into Mr. Handel. The boy's Mother was NOT an employee at the Cathedral, she cleaned and ironed shirts, so the mother "bribes" Mr. Handel with non-starched shirts to save her boy from being in jail. The choir sucks until the washer lady's son is discovered by Handel.

Handel's Last Chance

1996

Must Be Santa poster
3.5

When the reigning Santa is no longer fit for duty his helpers must search for a replacement. This leads to a wacky, exhausting hunt and doesn't turn up exactly what Santa's angels hoped for. To make matters worse still, "Santy" winds up being just this side of totally undesirable.

Must Be Santa

1999

No artwork available
NR

In 1932, Booky and her family suffer hardships from the Great Depression. She’s hungry all the time, her parents fight constantly and soon they may be evicted from their home. But Booky has imagination and spirit, and she keeps her family together through those cold, hard times.

That Scatterbrain Booky

1992

1980s · 13 titles

Short Circuit 2 poster
6.2

Robot Johnny 5 moves to the city to help his friend Ben Jahrvi with his toy manufacturing enterprise, only to be manipulated by criminals who want to use him for their own nefarious purposes.

Short Circuit 2

1988

A Muppet Family Christmas poster
6.9

Fozzie Bear surprises his mother on Christmas Eve by bringing the entire Muppet gang to her farm to celebrate the holidays. Doc and his dog Sprocket, who had planned a quiet Christmas, end up joining the Muppets in their holiday activities and preparations. The Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock regulars join the festivities, but to Kermit's dismay, the only one missing is Miss Piggy, who has been caught in a snowstorm.

A Muppet Family Christmas

1987

Spasms poster
4.6

A gigantic serpent is captured on a remote island and shipped to an American college for experimentation.

Spasms

1983

Draw! poster
6.6

In the final days of the Old West, a former desperado faces down a now drunken ex-sheriff, who was his long time nemesis.

Draw!

1984

No artwork available
NR

The apparent suicide of a politician he was hired to follow drags private detective Benny Cooperman into a whirlwind of hard boiled double crosses and psychotherapy whose roots lie in a decades-old unsolved murder.

The Suicide Murders

1985

Yesterday poster
7.5

A young American hockey player, studying in Canada on a hockey scholarship, falls in love while risking his scholarship and the prospect of the Vietnam war draft.

Yesterday

1980

Fraggle Rock: Scared Silly poster
NR

Join the Fraggle gang in three frightfully delightful episodes full of mystery and magic! From Wembley accidentally wandering into the cursed “Terrible Tunnel,” Boober discovering what makes Fraggle tails flare when they get startled, and Ma and Pa Gorg leaving Junior alone in the castle on a dark and stormy night, Fraggle Rock: Scared Silly is bursting with Halloween fun! Include 3 ghostly episodes: “Terrible Tunnel,” “Scared Silly” and “A Dark & Stormy Night.”

Fraggle Rock: Scared Silly

1985

The Bells of Fraggle Rock poster
6.0

Gobo thinks the Fraggles' own Solstice holiday, the Festival of the Bells, is a big waste of time. Despite Cantus' warnings, Gobo goes on a journey to find out if the mythical Great Bell at the heart of Fraggle Rock is real. When the Rock slows down in the winter, the Fraggles hold the Festival of the Bells to make sure it keeps moving. As part of the celebration, they ring bells to awaken the Great Bell at the heart of the Rock. They also dress up as a Weebabeast, who used to guard the Great Bell when the Rock was small. Meanwhile, Doc and Sprocket explore mid-winter holiday traditions from around the world.

The Bells of Fraggle Rock

1984

Fight for Life poster
6.0

Jerry Lewis plays an Ohio optometrist who has a six-year old daughter with epilepsy. He fights to get the FDA to approve a drug (at that time only available in England) for use in the U.S.

Fight for Life

1987

Fraggle Rock: Live by the Rule of the Rock poster
NR

Gobo has not received his usual postcard from his Uncle Traveling Matt. He eventually comes to realize that he must venture out into Outer Space to look for him. Meanwhile, Red and Wembley discover a creature who is whatever you believe it is. The trouble starts when Ma Gorg believes it into being a monster in the basement of the castle. And Cotterpin Doozer decides she’d rather be a Fraggle like Red, than spend the rest of her life building with the Doozers.

Fraggle Rock: Live by the Rule of the Rock

1983

Heaven On Earth poster
8.0

An armful of destitute orphans transported to the New World at the turn of the century. This is the turbulent and moving story of four British 'bricks for Empire building' - based on the memoirs of some of the 100,000 'home children' who helped build the new Canada.

Heaven On Earth

1987

The Last Winter poster
6.2

Tells the story of a young man's struggle to keep his world from changing. Placed in the rural setting of the mid 1950s.

The Last Winter

1989

Fraggles Look For Jobs poster
NR

Fraggle Rock wrap video taped in 1986, and screened May 16, 1986.

Fraggles Look For Jobs

1986

1970s · 7 titles

An American Christmas Carol poster
6.2

In Depression-era New England, a miserly businessman named Benedict Slade receives a long-overdue attitude adjustment one Christmas Eve when he is visited by three ghostly figures who resemble three of the people whose possessions Slade had seized to collect on unpaid loans. Assuming the roles of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future from Charles Dickens' classic story, the three apparitions force Slade to face the consequences of his skinflint ways, and he becomes a caring, generous, amiable man.

An American Christmas Carol

1979

Bethune poster
6.0

Based on the true story of Canadian doctor Norman Bethune, this film traces his life from his beginnings with his deeply religious family in Ontario, through his medical studies in school, where he developed his overwhelming compassion for those less fortunate, and his driving desire to see that they get the medical attention they need. Most of his life after college was spent either working in war zones around Europe or developing new treatment techniques in his home country.

Bethune

1977

Running Time poster
10.0

This feature film is an exotic romp through the ’60s in song and dance. A fantasy that pokes fun not only at some hallowed institutions but at itself as well.

Running Time

1974

The Pyx poster
5.5

A detective investigating the death of a heroin-addicted prostitute uncovers evidence pointing to the existence of a murderous devil cult.

The Pyx

1973

No artwork available
NR

A play by Frian Friel, adapted for television by Hugh Webster. The story of three Londonderry citizens who took refuge in the Guildhall, escaping from the gas bombs and confusion of riot-filled streets during a confrontation between civil rights marchers and the military. Their story emerges in a series of flashbacks as a judge presides over a court of inquiry into their deaths.

Freedom of the City

1975

The Apprentice poster
4.2

In Montréal, Jean-Pierre is fired on the set of a TV commercial where he's an apprentice technician. He's penniless, behind on his rent, with a thin resume and no college units. He has a fiancée, Michelle, but his head is turned by a free-spirited model, from the U.S., who saw him being fired and comes to his flat to apologize. She's Elizabeth, a combination of feckless innocence and sexual freedom. Jean-Pierre borrows money from his outlaw friend, Dock, and buys clothes to impress Elizabeth. Soon he's sleeping with her, and he pulls a theft with Dock to get money to take her to Acapulco. Michelle tries to bring him back to her orbit. Is there a way out for Jean-Pierre?

The Apprentice

1971

Second Wind poster
6.5

A successful executive and family man takes up jogging for a hobby. Soon his desire to excel as a long distance runner interferes with his career and marriage.

Second Wind

1976

1960s · 4 titles

Series credits

The Wednesday Play poster
5.2

An anthology series of television plays which aired on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured.

The Wednesday Play

1964

The Twilight Zone poster
7.7

This 1980s revival of the classic sci-fi series features a similar style to the original anthology series. Each episode tells a tale (sometimes two or three) rooted in horror or suspense, often with a surprising twist at the end. Episodes usually feature elements of drama and comedy.

The Twilight Zone

1985

War of the Worlds poster
6.5

Humanity must resume its war against the Martians when they revive after decades of hibernation following their defeat in the 1950s. The fate of Earth may very well rest in the hands of a small yet courageous band: astrophysicist Harrison Blackwood, paraplegic computer wizard Norton Drake, microbiologist Suzanne McCullough and military man Paul Ironhorse.

War of the Worlds

1988

Fraggle Rock poster
7.3

The Fraggles are a fun-loving community of creatures who live in a subterranean fantasy land where they love to play, sing and dance their cares away, sharing their world with the tiny Doozers and the giant Gorgs. The series teaches empathy and tolerance and encourages children to understand people different from themselves.

Fraggle Rock

1983

Storm of the Century poster
7.0

When a blizzard hits an isolated island town it brings with it a mysterious stranger intent on terrorizing the people for a sinister purpose.

Storm of the Century

1999

Noddy poster
5.9

After years of sailing the sea, Noah Tomten, a retired sea captain, owns an antique toy store called Notions Oddities Doodads and Delights of Yesterday, a variety of toys, from a weasel living inside of a jack in the box to a dog pretending to be a superhero, along with his pet lobster. Two of his grandkids, Kate and Truman, as well as Kate's friend DJ, come to visit him from time to time.

Noddy

1998

No artwork available
8.0

A Canadian anthology series designed to spotlight emerging writing talent, presenting a diverse range of stories and encompassing everything from conventional drama to offbeat and absurdist sketch comedy.

Teleplay

1976

The National Dream poster
9.0

A combination of documentary and dramatic reconstructions, depicting the conception and construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the late 19th century.

The National Dream

1974